Bildt; Center, Olof Johansson; Liberal People's Party, Bengt Westerberg; Social
Democratic, Ingvar Carlsson; Left Party-Communist (VPK), Lars Werner; Swedish
Communist Party (SKP), Rune Pettersson; Communist Workers' Party, Rolf
Hagel; Green Party, no formal leader
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections:
Parliament--last held 18 September 1988 (next to be held
September 1991);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(349 total) Social Democratic 156, Moderate (conservative) 66,
Liberals 44, Center 42, Communists 21, Greens 20
Communists: VPK and SKP; VPK, the major Communist party, is reported to
have roughly 17,800 members; in the 1988 election, the VPK attracted 5.8%
of the vote
Member of: ADB, CCC, Council of Europe, DAC, EFTA, ESA, FAO, GATT,
IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICES, ICO, IDA, IDB--Inter-American Development
Bank, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, ILZSG, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, INTELSAT, IPU,
ISO, ITU, IWC--International, Whaling Commission, IWC--International Wheat
Council, Nordic Council, OECD, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Anders THUNBORG; Chancery at
Suite 1200, 600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington DC 20037;
telephone (202) 944-5600; there are Swedish Consulates General in Chicago,
Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and New York;
US--Ambassador Charles E. REDMAN; Embassy at Strandvagen 101,
S-115 27 Stockholm; telephone [46] (8) 7835300
Flag: blue with a yellow cross that extends to the edges of the flag; the
vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the style of the
Dannebrog (Danish flag)
- Economy
Overview: Aided by a long period of peace and neutrality during
World War I through World War II, Sweden has achieved an enviable
standard of living under a mixed system of high-tech capitalism and
extensive welfare benefits. It has essentially full employment,
a modern distribution system, excellent internal and external
communications, and a skilled and intelligent labor force. Timber,
hydropower, and iron ore constitute the resource base of an economy
that is heavily oriented toward foreign trade. Privately owned firms
account for about 90% of industrial output, of which the engineering
sector accounts for 50% of output and exports. As the 1990s open,
however, Sweden faces serious economic problems: long waits for
adequate housing, the decay of the work ethic, and a loss of
competitive edge in international markets.
GDP: $132.7 billion, per capita $15,700; real growth rate 2.1%
(1989 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.7% (September 1989)
Unemployment rate: 1.5% (1989)
Budget: revenues $58.0 billion; expenditures $57.9 billion,
including capital expenditures of $NA (FY89)
Exports: $52.2 billion (f.o.b., 1989 est.);
commodities--machinery, motor vehicles, paper products, pulp
and wood, iron and steel products, chemicals, petroleum and
petroleum products; partners--EC 52.1%, (FRG 12.1%, UK 11.2%,
Denmark 6.8%), US 9.8%, Norway 9.3%
Imports: $48.5 billion (c.i.f., 1989 est.);
commodities--machinery, petroleum and petroleum products,
chemicals, motor vehicles, foodstuffs, iron and steel, clothing;
partners--EC 55.8% (FRG 21.2%, UK 8.6%, Denmark 6.6%),
US 7.5%, Norway 6.0%
External debt: $17.9 billion (1988)
Industrial production: growth rate 3.3% (1989)
Electricity: 39,716,000 kW capacity; 200,315 million kWh produced,
23,840 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: iron and steel, precision equipment (bearings, radio and
telephone parts, armaments), wood pulp and paper products, processed foods,
motor vehicles
Agriculture: animal husbandry predominates, with milk and dairy products
accounting for 37% of farm income; main crops--grains, sugar beets, potatoes;
100% self-sufficient in grains and potatoes, 85% self-sufficient in sugar beets
Aid: donor--ODA and OOF commitments (1970-87), $7.9 billion
Currency: Swedish krona (plural--kronor);
1 Swedish krona (SKr) = 100 ore
Exchange rates: Swedish kronor (SKr) per US$1--6.1798 (January 1990),
6.4469 (1989), 6.1272 (1988), 6.3404 (1987), 7.1236 (1986), 8.6039 (1985)
Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June
- Communications
Railroads: 12,000 km total; Swedish State Railways (SJ)--10,819 km
1.435-meter standard gauge, 6,955 km electrified and 1,152 km double
track; 182 km 0.891-meter gauge; 117 km rail ferry service; privately
owned railways--511 km 1.435-meter standard gauge (332 km electrified);
371 km 0.891-meter gauge (all electrified)
Highways: 97,400 km (51,899 km paved, 20,659 km gravel, 24,842 km
unimproved earth)
Inland waterways: 2,052 km navigable for small steamers and barges
Pipelines: 84 km natural gas
Ports: Gavle, Goteborg, Halmstad, Helsingborg, Kalmar, Malmo,
Stockholm; numerous secondary and minor ports
Merchant marine: 173 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,856,217
GRT/2,215,659 DWT; includes 9 short-sea passenger, 29 cargo, 3 container, 42
roll-on/roll-off cargo, 11 vehicle carrier, 2 railcar carrier, 27 petroleum,
oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 25 chemical tanker, 1 liquefied gas, 5
combination ore/oil, 6 specialized tanker, 12 bulk, 1 combination bulk
Civil air: 65 major transports
Airports: 259 total, 256 usable; 138 with permanent-surface
runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 11 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
91 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: excellent domestic and international
facilities; 8,200,000 telephones; stations--4 AM, 56 (320 relays) FM,
110 (925 relays) TV; 5 submarine coaxial cables; communication satellite
earth stations operating in the INTELSAT (1 Atlantic Ocean) and EUTELSAT
systems
- Defense Forces
Branches: Royal Swedish Army, Royal Swedish Air Force, Royal Swedish Navy
Military manpower: males 15-49, 2,133,101; 1,865,526 fit for military
service; 56,632 reach military age (19) annually
Defense expenditures: $4.5 billion (1989 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country: Switzerland
- Geography
Total area: 41,290 km2; land area: 39,770 km2
Comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of New Jersey
Land boundaries: 1,852 km total; Austria 164 km, France 573 km,
Italy 740 km, Liechtenstein 41 km, FRG 334 km
Coastline: none--landlocked
Maritime claims: none--landlocked
Climate: temperate, but varies with altitude; cold, cloudy, rainy/snowy
winters; cool to warm, cloudy, humid summers with occasional showers
Terrain: mostly mountains (Alps in south, Jura in northwest) with a
central plateau of rolling hills, plains, and large lakes
Natural resources: hydropower potential, timber, salt
Land use: 10% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 40% meadows and pastures;
26% forest and woodland; 23% other; includes 1% irrigated
Environment: dominated by Alps
Note: landlocked; crossroads of northern and southern Europe
- People
Population: 6,742,461 (July 1990), growth rate 0.6% (1990)
Birth rate: 12 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 9 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 3 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 5 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 75 years male, 83 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 1.6 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun--Swiss (sing. & pl.); adjective--Swiss
Ethnic divisions: total population--65% German, 18% French, 10% Italian,
1% Romansch, 6% other; Swiss nationals--74% German, 20% French, 4% Italian,
1% Romansch, 1% other
Religion: 49% Roman Catholic, 48% Protestant, 0.3% Jewish
Language: total population--65% German, 18% French, 12% Italian, 1%
Romansch, 4% other; Swiss nationals--74% German, 20% French, 4% Italian, 1%
Romansch, 1% other
Literacy: 99%
Labor force: 3,220,000; 841,000 foreign workers, mostly Italian;
42% services, 39% industry and crafts, 11% government, 7% agriculture and
forestry, 1% other (1988)
Organized labor: 20% of labor force
- Government
Long-form name: Swiss Confederation
Type: federal republic
Capital: Bern
Administrative divisions: 26 cantons (cantons, singular--canton in French;
cantoni, singular--cantone in Italian; kantone, singular--kanton in German);
Aargau, Ausser-Rhoden, Basel-Landschaft, Basel-Stadt, Bern, Fribourg, Geneve,
Glarus, Graubunden, Inner-Rhoden, Jura, Luzern, Neuchatel, Nidwalden,
Obwalden, Sankt Gallen, Schaffhausen, Schwyz, Solothurn, Thurgau, Ticino, Uri,
Valais, Vaud, Zug, Zurich
Independence: 1 August 1291
Constitution: 29 May 1874
Legal system: civil law system influenced by customary law; judicial
review of legislative acts, except with respect to federal decrees of general
obligatory character; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
National holiday: Anniversary of the Founding of the Swiss Confederation,
1 August (1291)
Executive branch: president, vice president, Federal Council
(German--Bundesrat, French--Conseil Federal)
Legislative branch: bicameral Federal Assembly (German--Bundesversammlung,
French--Assemblee Federale) consists of an upper council or Council of
States (German--Standerat, French--Conseil des Etats) and and a lower council
or National Council (German--Nationalrat, French--Conseil National)
Judicial branch: Federal Supreme Court
Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Arnold KOLLER
(1990 calendar year; presidency rotates annually); Vice President Flavio
COTTI (term runs concurrently with that of president)
Political parties and leaders: Social Democratic Party (SPS), Helmut
Hubacher, chairman; Radical Democratic Party (FDP), Bruno Hunziker, president;
Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP), Eva Segmuller-Weber, president;
Swiss People's Party (SVP), Hans Uhlmann, president; Workers' Party (PdA),
Armand Magnin, secretary general; National Action Party (NA), Hans Zwicky,
chairman; Independents' Party (LdU), Dr. Franz Jaeger, president; Republican
Movement (Rep), Dr. James Schworzenboch, Franz Baumgartner, leaders; Liberal
Party (LPS), Gilbert Coutau, president; Evangelical People's Party (EVP), Max
Dunki, president; Progressive Organizations of Switzerland (POCH),
Georg Degen, secretary; Federation of Ecology Parties (GP), Laurent
Rebeaud, president; Autonomous Socialist Party (PSA), Werner Carobbio,
secretary
Suffrage: universal at age 20
Elections:
Council of State--last held throughout 1987 (next to be
held NA);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(46 total) CVP 19, FDP 14, SPS 5, SVP 4, others 4;
National Council--last held 18 October 1987 (next to be
held October 1991);
results--FDP 22.9%, CVP 20.0%, SPS 18.4%, SVP 11.0%, GP 4.8%, others
22.9%;
seats--(200 total) FDP 51, CVP 42, SPS 41, SVP 25, GP 9, others 32
Communists: 4,500 members (est.)
Member of: ADB, CCC, Council of Europe, DAC, EFTA, ESA, FAO, GATT, IAEA,
ICAC, ICAO, ICO, IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IEA, IFAD, ILO, IMO,
INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, ITU, IWC--International Wheat Council, OECD, UNESCO,
UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG, WTO; permanent observer status at
the UN
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Edouard BRUNNER; Chancery at
2900 Cathedral Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 745-7900;
there are Swiss Consulates General in Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles,
New York, and San Francisco;
US--Ambassador Joseph B. GUILDENHORN; Embassy at
Jubilaeumstrasse 93, 3005 Bern; telephone [41] (31) 437011;
there is a Branch Office of the Embassy in Geneva and a
Consulate General in Zurich
Flag: red square with a bold, equilateral white cross in the center that
does not extend to the edges of the flag
- Economy
Overview: Switzerland's economic success is matched in few, if any,
other nations. Per capita output, general living standards, education
and science, health care, and diet are unsurpassed in Europe. Inflation
remains low because of sound government policy and harmonious
labor-management relations. Unemployment is negligible, a marked
contrast to the larger economies of Western Europe. This economic
stability helps promote the important banking and tourist sectors. Since
World War II, Switzerland's economy has adjusted smoothly to the great
changes in output and trade patterns in Europe and presumably can adjust
to the challenges of the 1990s, in particular, the further economic
integration of Western Europe and the amazingly rapid changes in East
European political/economic prospects.
GDP: $119.5 billion, per capita $17,800; real growth rate 3.0%
(1989 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.8% (1989 est.)
Unemployment rate: 0.5% (1989 est.)
Budget: revenues $17.0 billion; expenditures $16.8 billion,
including capital expenditures of $NA (1988)
Exports: $51.2 billion (f.o.b., 1988); commodities--machinery and
equipment, precision instruments, metal products, foodstuffs, textiles
and clothing;
partners--Europe 64% (EC 56%, other 8%), US 9%, Japan 4%
Imports: $57.2 billion (c.i.f., 1988); commodities--agricultural
products, machinery and transportation equipment, chemicals, textiles,
construction materials;
partners--Europe 79% (EC 72%, other 7%), US 5%
External debt: $NA
Industrial production: growth rate 7.0% (1988)
Electricity: 17,710,000 kW capacity; 59,070 million kWh produced,
8,930 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: machinery, chemicals, watches, textiles, precision instruments
Agriculture: dairy farming predominates; less than 50% self-sufficient;
food shortages--fish, refined sugar, fats and oils (other than butter), grains,
eggs, fruits, vegetables, meat
Aid: donor--ODA and OOF commitments (1970-87), $2.5 billion
Currency: Swiss franc, franken, or franco (plural--francs, franken, or
franchi); 1 Swiss franc, franken, or franco (SwF) = 100 centimes, rappen, or
centesimi
Exchange rates: Swiss francs, franken, or franchi (SwF) per US$1--1.5150
(January 1990), 1.6359 (1989), 1.4633 (1988), 1.4912 (1987), 1.7989 (1986),
2.4571 (1985)
Fiscal year: calendar year
- Communications
Railroads: 5,174 km total; 2,971 km are government owned
and 2,203 km are nongovernment owned; the government network consists
of 2,897 km 1.435-meter standard gauge and 74 km 1.000-meter narrow
gauge track; 1,432 km double track, 99% electrified; the nongovernment
network consists of 710 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, 1,418 km
1.000-meter gauge, and 75 km 0.790-meter gauge track, 100% electrified
Highways: 62,145 km total (all paved), of which 18,620 km are canton and
1,057 km are national highways (740 km autobahn); 42,468 km are communal roads
Pipelines: 314 km crude oil; 1,506 km natural gas
Inland waterways: 65 km; Rhine (Basel to Rheinfelden, Schaffhausen
to Bodensee); 12 navigable lakes
Ports: Basel (river port)
Merchant marine: 20 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 215,851
GRT/365,131 DWT; includes 4 cargo, 2 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 3 chemical tanker,
3 specialized liquid cargo, 8 bulk
Civil air: 89 major transport aircraft
Airports: 72 total, 70 usable; 42 with permanent-surface runways;
2 with runways over 3,659 m; 6 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 17 with runways
1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: excellent domestic, international, and broadcast
services; 5,808,000 telephones; stations--6 AM, 36 (400 relays) FM,
145 (1,250 relays) TV; communications satellite earth stations operating
in the INTELSAT (4 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and EUTELSAT systems
- Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Air Force
Military manpower: males 15-49, 1,800,211; 1,550,662 fit for military
service; 44,154 reach military age (20) annually
Defense expenditures: $1.2 billion (1989 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country: Syria
- Geography
Total area: 185,180 km2; land area: 184,050 km2 (including 1,295 km2
of Israeli-occupied territory)
Comparative area: slightly larger than North Dakota
Land boundaries: 2,253 km total; Iraq 605 km, Israel 76 km,
Jordan 375 km, Lebanon 375 km, Turkey 822 km
Coastline: 193 km
Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 6 nm beyond territorial sea limit;
Territorial sea: 35 nm
Disputes: separated from Israel by the 1949 Armistice Line; Golan Heights
is Israeli occupied; Hatay question with Turkey; periodic disputes with Iraq
over Euphrates water rights; ongoing dispute over water development plans by
Turkey for the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers; Kurdish question among Iran, Iraq,
Syria, Turkey, and the USSR
Climate: mostly desert; hot, dry, sunny summers (June to August) and mild,
rainy winters (December to February) along coast
Terrain: primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain;
mountains in west
Natural resources: crude oil, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores,
asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum
Land use: 28% arable land; 3% permanent crops; 46% meadows and pastures;
3% forest and woodland; 20% other; includes 3% irrigated
Environment: deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification
Note: there are 35 Jewish settlements in the Israeli-occupied
Golan Heights
- People
Population: 12,483,440 (July 1990), growth rate 3.8% (1990);
in addition, there are 13,500 Druze and 10,500 Jewish settlers in the
Israeli-occupied Golan Heights
Birth rate: 44 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 6 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 38 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 68 years male, 70 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 6.7 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun--Syrian(s); adjective--Syrian
Ethnic divisions: 90.3% Arab; 9.7% Kurds, Armenians, and other
Religion: 74% Sunni Muslim; 16% Alawite, Druze, and other Muslim sects;
10% Christian (various sects); tiny Jewish communities in Damascus,
Al Qamishli, and Aleppo
Language: Arabic (official), Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic,
Circassian; French widely understood
Literacy: 49%
Labor force: 2,400,000; 36% miscellaneous and government services,
32% agriculture, 32% industry and construction); majority unskilled;
shortage of skilled labor (1984)
Organized labor: 5% of labor force
- Government
Long-form name: Syrian Arab Republic
Type: republic; under leftwing military regime since March 1963
Capital: Damascus
Administrative divisions: 14 provinces (muhafazat,
singular--muhafazah); Al Hasakah, Al Ladhiqiyah, Al Qunaytirah,
Ar Raqqah, As Suwayda, Dara, Dayr az Zawr, Dimashq, Halab,
Hamah, Hims, Idlib, Madinat Dimashq, Tartus
Independence: 17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under
French administration); formerly United Arab Republic
Constitution: 13 March 1973
Legal system: based on Islamic law and civil law system; special religious
courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday: National Day, 17 April (1946)
Executive branch: president, three vice presidents, prime minister,
three deputy prime ministers, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
Legislative branch: unicameral People's Council (Majlis ash Shaab)
Judicial branch: Supreme Constitutional Court, High Judicial
Council, Court of Cassation, State Security Courts
Leaders:
Chief of State--President Lt. Gen. Hafiz al-ASSAD (since 22 February
1971); Vice Presidents Abd al-Halim KHADDAM, Dr. Rifat al-ASSAD, and
Muhammad Zuhayr MASHARIQA (since 11 March 1984);
Head of Government--Prime Minister Mahmud ZUBI (since 1 November 1987);
Deputy Prime Minister Lt. Gen. Mustafa TALAS (since 11 March 1984)
Political parties and leaders: ruling party is the Arab Socialist
Resurrectionist (Bath) Party; the Progressive National Front is dominated by
Bathists but includes independents and members of the Syrian Arab Socialist
Party (ASP), Arab Socialist Union (ASU), Socialist Unionist Movement, and Syrian
Communist Party (SCP)
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections:
President--last held 10-11 February 1985 (next to be held February
1992);
results--President Hafiz al-Assad was reelected without opposition;
People's Council--last held 10-11 February 1986 (next to be
held 22 May 1990);
results--Bath 66%, ASU 5%, SCP 5%, Socialist Unionist Movement 4%,
ASP 2%, independents 18%;
seats--(195 total) Bath 129, Communist 9, ASU 9, Socialiist Unionist
Movement 8, ASP 5, independents 35; the People's Council will have
250 seats total in the 22 May 1990 election
Communists: mostly sympathizers, numbering about 5,000
Other political or pressure groups: non-Bath parties have little
effective political influence; Communist party ineffective; greatest threat to
Assad regime lies in factionalism in the military; conservative religious
leaders; Muslim Brotherhood
Member of: Arab League, CCC, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA,
IDB--Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL,
IOOC, IPU, ITU, IWC--International Wheat Council, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, UN, UNESCO,
UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WSG, WTO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Walid Mu'allim;
Chancery at 2215 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202)
232-6313;
US--Ambassador Edward P. DJEREJIAN; Embassy at Abu Rumaneh,
Al Mansur Street No.2, Damascus (mailing address is P. O. Box 29, Damascus);
telephone [963] (11) 333052 or 332557, 330416, 332814, 332315
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with two
small green five-pointed stars in a horizontal line centered in the white band;
similar to the flags of the YAR which has one star and Iraq which has three
stars (in a horizontal line centered in the white band)--all green and
five-pointed; also similar to the flag of Egypt which has a symbolic eagle
centered in the white band
- Economy
Overview: Syria's rigidly structured Bathist economy is turning out
roughly the same amount of goods in 1989 as in 1983, when the population
was 20% smaller. Economic difficulties are attributable, in part, to severe
drought in several recent years, costly but unsuccessful attempts to match
Israel's military strength, a falloff in Arab aid, and insufficient foreign
exchange earnings to buy needed inputs for industry and agriculture. Socialist
policy, embodied in a thicket of bureaucratic regulations, in many instances
has driven away or pushed underground the mercantile and entrepreneurial spirit
for which Syrian businessmen have long been famous. Two bright spots: a sizable
number of villagers have benefited from land redistribution, electrification,
and other rural development programs; and a recent find of light crude oil
has enabled Syria to cut back its substantial imports of light crude. A
long-term concern is the additional drain of upstream Euphrates water by
Turkey when its vast dam and irrigation projects are completed toward the end
of the 1990s.
GDP: $18.5 billion, per capita $1,540; real growth rate - 2%
(1989 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 70% (1989 est.)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues $NA; expenditures $3.2 billion, including capital
expenditures of $1.92 billion (1989)
Exports: $1.3 billion (f.o.b., 1988 est.); commodities--petroleum,
textiles, fruits and vegetables, phosphates;
partners--Italy, Romania, USSR, US, Iran, France
Imports: $1.9 billion (f.o.b., 1988 est.); commodities--petroleum,
machinery, base metals, foodstuffs and beverages;
partners--Iran, FRG, USSR, France, GDR, Libya, US
External debt: $5.3 billion in hard currency (1989 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: 2,867,000 kW capacity; 6,000 million kWh produced,
500 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco,
phosphate rock mining, petroleum